Amur stickleback

description

Description. Meristics and morphometrics in Table 1; selected frequency distributions of counts in Tables 2 and 3. Body elongate, laterally compressed, tapering posteriorly to caudal peduncle; body depth greatest just before pelvic-fin origin. Dorsal profile of head almost straight, gently ascending from mouth to dorsal fin origin; ventral profile slightly convex. Mouth small, oblique; anterior edge of upper jaw reaching to mid-pupil level, posterior end of jaw not reaching below anterior edge of eye. Eye large, rounded. Snout conical (lateral view), its length similar to eye diameter. Anterior nostril markedly smaller than posterior nostril; posterior nostril tubular, located slightly above mid-pupil level. Small conical teeth in 1 – 4 serial rows on both jaws, teeth absent on vomer and palatine. Anus located just anterior to anal-fin spine. Ectocoracoid located on ventral aspect of pectoral girdle, curving antero-medially to articulate with opposite element; pelvic girdle articulating anteriorly with posterior end of ectocoracoid. Pelvis triangular (ventral view). Dorsal-fin spines strong, sharply pointed, posteriormost spine longer than other spines in 268 specimens (71 specimen

Redescription of the Chinese ninespine stickleback, Pungitius sinensis (Guichenot 1869) (Gasterosteiformes, Gasterosteidae)

diagnosis

Diagnosis. Pungitius sinensis is distinguished from its congeners by the following combination of characters: dorsal-fin rays IX (VII – X) + 11 (9 – 12); anal-fin rays I + 10 (7 – 11); pectoral-fin rays 10 (9 – 11); pelvic-fin rays I + 2 (1 or 2); upper and lower procurrent caudal-fin rays both 5 (3 – 7), 10 (6 – 14) in total; lateral plates in a full (31 – 35 lateral plates from just above cleithrum to caudal-fin base) or incomplete row (0 – 7 lateral plates anteriorly, and 3 – 19 posteriorly from middle of anal fin), forming a distinct lateral keel on caudal peduncle; 7 (5 – 7) plates on ventral surface of caudal peduncle; vertebrae 32 – 36 (13 – 16 abdominal and 18 – 20 caudal vertebrae); dorsal-fin spines inclining alternately to sides of mid-line; first dorsal-fin spine anterodorsal to upper end of pectoral-fin base; ascending process of pelvis well-developed, upper end of pelvis reaching to level of fifth pectoral-fin ray base; antero-ventral process of ectocoracoid present, right and left ectocoracoids articulating anteriorly with each other; a distinct ridge on cleithrum and ectocoracoid; membranes of dorsal-fin spines hyaline or with some minute black spots; body dark gree

Redescription of the Chinese ninespine stickleback, Pungitius sinensis (Guichenot 1869) (Gasterosteiformes, Gasterosteidae)

discussion

Remarks. Pungitius sinensis was originally described by Guichenot (1869) as Gasterosteus sinensis, based on seven specimens collected from China. Although Guichenot (1869) did not give a precise type locality, Berg (1907) and other authors (e. g., Bogutskaya et al. 2008) speculated that the syntypes were collected from the Yangtze River. However, the present study could not provide confirmed evidence of the syntypes being collected from the Yangtze River. In fact, previous studies from China (e. g., Bian et al. 2008; Zhou et al. 2018) also suggested that P. sinensis is not distributed in the Yangtze River. Guichenot (1869) suggested that the syntypes were donated by Armand David, a Lazarist missionary Catholic priest and naturalist, who at the time that Gasterosteus sinensis was described, had been collecting plant and animal specimens, primarily around Beijing and the Ordos Basin (David 1875). Since P. sinensis inhabits the area around Beijing (Wang 1984), the syntypes had likely been collected in that region. Pungitius sinensis is distinguished from all other congeners by several characters, including fin ray numbers, presence of a distinct keel on caudal peduncle, and morphology

Redescription of the Chinese ninespine stickleback, Pungitius sinensis (Guichenot 1869) (Gasterosteiformes, Gasterosteidae)

distribution

Distribution. Pungitius sinensis has been recorded from northern China around the Bo-Hai Sea (Liaoning to Shandong), Inner Mongolia, Anadyr (eastern north Russia), the Russian Far East around the Sea of Okhotsk (Magadan, Shantar Islands, lower reaches of the Amur River, Kamchatka Peninsula and Sakhalin Island), Primorsky Krai, the Kuril Islands, the northern and eastern Korean Peninsula, and Hokkaido and the northern Honshu islands, Japan (Ikeda 1933, 1935; Kim et al. 1989; Pietsch et al. 2001; Chereshnev 2002; Bogutskaya et al. 2008; Pichugin 2012; Ko 2016; Wang & Guo 2022; current study).

Redescription of the Chinese ninespine stickleback, Pungitius sinensis (Guichenot 1869) (Gasterosteiformes, Gasterosteidae)